Teach the controversy.
14 Likes
“Conspiracy theory” is simply the wrong label, though. If someone talks about beating you up, is being egged on by his friends, etc… the idea that he might actually beat you up isn’t a “conspiracy theory” - it’s an actual threat, regardless of how likely it is to happen (or how capable he is in making good on the attempt, should he try). I.e. it may be a laughable threat, but it’s still a threat.
In this case, I don’t rate the odds that Trump will attempt - and succeed - at staying in power illegally very highly. But it’s very possible he’ll at least try, and it’s certainly not a “conspiracy theory.”
16 Likes
Just imagine if Obama had said any of the shit the current occupant of the white house says. Imagine if he joked about staying in office for a 3rd term or retweeted a threat of civil war if he wasn’t re-elected or was impeached… They could not stand a black man in the white house, and would have loved to have had even a fraction of cause that Trump literally just throws the fuck out there on a nearly daily basis… Literally, every single racist fever dream they had about Obama turned out to be a conspiracy theory, because none of it was true. Not a single bit of it. Trump is the one threatening civil war, it’s not something we made up in our heads… That is actually happening right now. It’s not a crazy conspiracy, it’s happening. Now how likely that actually is, is totally up for debate, of course. But he IS threatening this…
27 Likes
Erm. Qualitative difference, there: Obama was sane when he entered the WH and worn-down but mentally-sound when he left.
The Redcap in Chief was not sane from the moment he announced his candidacy and has only degenerated since then.
8 Likes
He will not leave voluntarily. Between the vote caging, voter suppression, Russian interference, outright voter fraud, and bribing or threatening electors it is pretty clear he will win the election no matter what the popular vote is. If he loses in the Electoral College he will simply declare an emergency and suspend Rule of Law.
He has said it out loud. The Trump 2024 material is already out there. He said he’ll have a third term “if my supporters demand it,” and he said about Xi “He’s now president for life. President for life. No, he’s great. And look, he was able to do that. I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.”
Nope. If he leaves he’ll see himself as a “loser” which he simply can’t abide. And the Republicans will back him no matter what. Oh, one or two have symbolically broken ranks, and plenty of ones who are retired and have no political aspirations anymore will gladly say “Naughty, naughty. He really oughtn’t have done that”; they all gave him whatever he wanted when they had power.
11 Likes
Eh I’m good. I’ve had a noticeable amount of grey for more than half my life. And I’ve never had a beard without any gray in it. My hairs light enough you can’t see it till you get close, and the grey is just eating the red streaks in my beard. So so long as I don’t go bald I’m kind of over that shit.
2 Likes
Right-wing authoritarianism is so strong in the Republican party, it was easy for them to imagine that Obama was the total opposite of who he really is - because they were simply projecting. (That also means that the thing they accuse others of is a thing that they might actually do themselves…)
15 Likes
That’s a highly exceptional case as opposed to the average, you have to admit.
Individual genetics and contributing factors aside, the fact is that Obama’s hair did seem to rapidly turn gray in 8 years, and it’s undeniable that he was under constant pressure throughout the entirety of his two terms in office.
12 Likes
one of my college friends was salt and pepper grey when she was 20. she showed me some yearbook pictures from when she was a freshman in high school and she had already gotten a noticeable amount of grey at 14. she told us she started going grey when she hit puberty shortly after she turned 11. her first grey hairs preceded her first period by a couple of months. by the time she got her master’s degree her hair was basically white. she was 29.
of course, that’s still not the same as doing it in 4 months.
10 Likes
Projection. Every damned thing they accuse democrats of is stuff they either are doing or want to figure out a way to do. This is one of those things. Get ready for a “national emergency” either delaying or invalidating the 2020 election, depending on how bad his polling looks. He knows without the protection of the office he is toast, from his standpoint there is nothing to lose. There is nothing more dangerous than an opponent who has literally nothing to lose.
21 Likes
Will Trump’s stench ever leave the White House?
9 Likes
I knew a guy in undergrad who was salt-&-pepper at only 19; we all have heard of folks whose hair turns gray prematurely, but regardless it’s still not “the norm” for most people. And now, hopefully we can all move on, because hair follicles that have lost their melanin ain’t exactly ‘on topic.’
12 Likes
I came to this thread expecting a good old throwdown, and came out with gray hair.
21 Likes
The stomach to seize power through evil deeds, sure; that is scrumptious to them. But McConnell doesn’t have what it takes to go round, like, ordering the deaths of his enemies and personally terrifying people into obedience. Which is what it would take.
We’re talking about a gang of spineless, semi-rotted old men here. They wield power by coöpting the system; if the system breaks, they don’t have any power. And the GOP hasn’t infiltrated the government to the point where they can just order people to do stuff regardless of who gets elected or what the law says, because if they were even close to that point, they’d already have dispensed with elections.
13 Likes
I admit it!
4 Likes
Even if he can be extricated, his stench will take decades to fade from the national consciousness.
He’ll leave, but the place will be in a shambles.
I hope.
7 Likes
Of course he will!
If he loses, he has to leave; if he succeeds in declaring himself Golf Emperor, bigly; Mar-a-Lago will obviously become the formal seat of American governance.
4 Likes
I doubt even most of the Republican establishment would have believed they’d sell their soul to Hair Hitler, but they have. Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and all the other bootlickers diving into this dumpster fire administration probably don’t believe they’d back a coup. But President Biff would, and what we’ve seen is that their notional principles have zero bearing on their actions. Trusting them to defend the Constitution is just naive. Would they succeed? Probably not. But there’s enough armed wackadoodles who believe in the actual conspiracy theory QAnon to cause a lot of death and damage as the GOP self-destructs.
And remember, Trump is just a symptom. Whether it’s next year or further on, the Republican party is heading relentlessly in the direction of a Constitutional crisis.
22 Likes
I’d rather the left not follow the jade helm pizza gate route of conspiracy theory that is all the rage with the right wingers. Please can someone stay sane?
1 Like
Look at this guy and tell me he’s not concerned about his future, just a little.
13 Likes
